Structural modifications for specific intended uses during manufacture of the workpieces are commonly required. For example, angle irons or structural angles (i.e., angle irons) often require that multiple holes be provided at various locations along the angles. Machines have, of course, been used which can create holes (e.g., by punching or drilling), or stamp identifying information, in such workpieces, usually in a facility where the workpieces are being worked on (e.g., where a long blank is being punched to provide whatever holes are required for the intended use of the part pieces, with individual elements being sheared from the blank to form the individual part pieces).
Workpieces such as structural angles which are not simply flat and/or are made of strong material can be particularly difficult to work with in creating holes. For example, structural angles may have two longitudinal members or legs connected at right angles along an edge (often by bending a single flat longitudinal member along a line extending in the longitudinal direction), and typically are made of strong metals such as steel or iron to provide the strength required in many construction and manufacturing applications. In order to create holes in both of the legs of structural angles, separate punches have been used for each the two different legs of the angle, with one punch for one leg of the angle and a separate punch for the other leg of the angle. Those punches have shared a mechanism which serves to properly position the angle lengthwise for punching (e.g., along the X-axis), and have their own separate drives to move each individual punch head assembly to the correct location (along the Y- and Z-axes). Not only can the cost of such dual punches be significant, but the speed of operation is also impacted since clearance requires that the punches be spaced along the X-axis, resulting in time being required to move the entire structural angle along the X-axis for punching holes in both legs of the angle, even if the holes are at the same position along that X-axis. Further, precise positioning of holes which are supposed to be at the same longitudinal position on the angle may not be achieved if the structural angle is not moved accurately along its X-axis between the different punches.
Still further, while punches used with structural angles are also from time to time used to punch holes in other workpieces, even those workpieces which are flat typically will require separate punches in any event, because machine operators who load such workpieces may load them in one orientation and in another orientation at another time (i.e., aligned in the direction of the Y-axis sometimes, and aligned in the direction of the Z-axis other times). Therefore, even though only a single surface may require holes, two separate hole punch mechanisms are nonetheless required to accommodate the fact that such workpieces may be loaded in two different orientations.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.